Through the Hill to Hill internship program, the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs selects and funds up to 10 students to live and work in Washington D.C. during JanPlan.
Internships occur at a variety of placement sites – many of which employ Colby alumni – curated by the Goldfarb Center to provide experiences that align with the Goldfarb Center’s pillars of politics, policy, and the press. As part of the selection process, applicants are asked to rank placement sites according to their order of preference. Students selected for the program will work with Goldfarb Center staff to pair to an available placement site and ultimately must agree to take a placement at any one of the curated sites as a condition of enrollment into the program.
As part of this program, the Goldfarb Center provides housing and an $875 financial award to all students enrolled in the program to cover the costs of local travel and food. Students accepted into the program may apply to receive an additional financial award to cover the costs of destination travel and lost wages. These financial awards are made possible through a partnership with DavisConnects.
Students enrolled in the program will work no less than 25 and no more than 30 hours per week at their placement site, engage in weekly, facilitated convenings with other members of the Hill to Hill cohort, prepare a final poster project that captures and communicates essential learnings from the experience, and participate in a final program celebration enabling all program participants and stakeholders to reflect on and celebrate student accomplishments. Additionally, enrolled students must participate in pre-departure activities including a resume-writing and LinkedIn profile development workshop and “how to ace a coffee chat” workshop with DavisConnects as well as some Spring semester activities such as meetings with program funders and presenting final posters a second time as part of CLAS.
During this program, participants will:
-Gain insight into the political, cultural, and social life of Washington, D.C.
-Cultivate relationships with alumni working in D.C. by engaging in networking opportunities
-Gain exposure to pathways for career and professional development in the fields of public affairs and public policy
-Gain insights into the dynamics of D.C.-based political discourse and strategies for impacting public policy-making *NOTE: The JanPlan 2025 program coincides with the swearing in of a new Congress and election of a new President and fewer opportunities to engage with policy-making as a result.*
-Participate in experiential learning opportunities that promote personal insights into how to engage with and make an impact on the fields of public affairs and public policy
Any full-time Colby student from the class of 2027, 2026, and 2025 is eligible to apply. Please note that there are certain placement sites that are only open to 3rd and 4th-year students.
Awards are intended to cover supplemental costs associated with living and working away from campus – transportation, food, etc. – regardless of whether an internship is paid or unpaid. Awards for local transportation and food will total $875 and the Goldfarb Center will pay housing costs directly. Additional awards for destination travel and lost wages are available for successful applicants receiving financial aid and will be granted on the basis of need and individual travel circumstances. Students paired to the limited paid internships available through this program may be eligible to receive awards for destination travel and lost wages but should expect their supplemental award to be reduced by the amount of expected internship income.
The Goldfarb Center is interested in supporting students for which exposure to the cultural and political dynamics of Washington D.C. will be a new and adventurous personal and educational growth experience.Applicants will be evaluated based on the merits and spirit of their application materials, which include a number of optional questions an applicant may choose, but is not required, to address. The application should take approximately one hour to complete and submit, and we advise that you spend no more than 1 hour answering and responding to all of the essay questions.
-Monday, September 30, 2024: Applications open
-Sunday, October 6, 2024 at 11:59PM: Application deadline
-Wednesday, October 16, 2024 at 5:00PM: All applicants will be notified of their selection status, including an option to be waitlisted, to enable any applicants not selected to pursue other opportunities and funding using DavisConnects General Application
-Friday, October 18, 2024: Selected students must determine if they will enroll in the program so as to enable waitlisted students to also determine if they will enroll in the program
-Wednesday, October 20: final enrollment deadline and program roster finalized
-Thursday, October 21 – Friday, December 6, 2024: Successful applicants will work directly with Goldfarb Center staff to finalize placement sites, secure a faculty advisor, and meet all fund disbursement requirements
Reach out to Erica Buswell, [email protected], with any questions or make an appointment to talk.
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